Discussion on Latest Trade Rumors

Will Cechmanek stare at the Stars? Should the Rangers trade Richter to the Blues or Sharks? Jordan came out of retirement, Lemieux came out of retirement, Bourque coming out of retirement…oh no ho ho no don’t think ssSO! Poti done digging for the Oil, going fishing on the Isle? ….read more.In courtesy of Spector’s Trade Rumors

FLYERS AND STARS INVOLVED IN POTENTIAL THREE-WAY DEAL?

NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks reports “informants” claim the Philadelphia Flyers, Dallas Stars and a “Western club” believed to be the Vancouver Canucks may be on the verge of a major three-way swap. Brooks claims the Flyers will obtain goalie Ed Belfour and defenceman Richard Matvichuk from the Stars for goaltender Roman Cechmanek – who was recently re-signed by Philly to a three-year deal. Dallas would then ship the Czech netminder to the other club for a physical forward and a backup goalie for Marty Turco. If it’s the Canucks, Brooks believes it may be winger Todd Bertuzzi and netminder Daniel Cloutier.

BLUES TO DEAL FOR RICHTER?

NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks reports the St. Louis Blues are keeping a close eye on the New York Rangers. Apparently, Blues GM Larry Pleau is ready to make a pitch to New York GM Glen Sather for goaltender Mike Richter should the Rangers collapse and fall out of the playoff race. Brooks claims St. Louis netminder Fred Brathwaite told an informant he expects to be part of the deal. The reporter believes the Rangers would also want power forward Keith Tkachuk and blueliner Barrett Jackman in the deal.

NEWSDAY: Arthur Staple reports Rangers GM Glen Sather isn’t about to “throw in the towel on the season” as his club struggles through a prolonged losing streak. Sather acknowledged there are players on his roster who are struggling, but says he believes they can turn things around if they work harder and re-gain their confidence.

ARE BEREZIN’S DAYS NUMBERED AS A COYOTE?

ARIZONA REPUBLIC: Bob McManaman reports Coyotes winger Sergei Berezin may end up on the trade block. The speedy Berezin has struggled all season offensively since coming to Phoenix in a trade with Toronto, and has grown frustrated over the recent drop in his ice-time. He may even consider requesting a trade. Neither Berezin’s agent or Coyotes management will say if a deal is imminent, but McManaman suspects there may be talks going on with other clubs.

THE LATEST ISLANDERS RUMOURS.

NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks reports NY Islanders GM Mike Milbury is offering up forward Brad Isbister to the Edmonton Oilers as trade-bait for defenceman Tom Poti. The Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins are also reportedly interested in Poti. Brooks claims Milbury is also looking to move forward Mariusz Czerkawski, and the Isles GM apparently remain “furious” at Blackhawks general manager Mike Smith for bailing out of a proposed deal that would’ve shipped sniper Tony Amonte to Long Island prior to Christmas.

BRUINS CONTACTED BOURQUE!

EDMONTON JOURNAL: Jim Matheson reports the Boston Bruins put in a call to former captain Raymond Bourque following a serious injury to defenceman Kyle McLaren, inquiring about the possibility of Bourque coming out of retirement to play for them. However, GM Mike O’Connell reports Bourque’s agent told him the future Hall-of-Fame turned him down, which O’Connell claims he expected. Matheson writes Bourque is enjoying his retirement, as well as the $1 million US in severance pay he got from the Colorado Avalanche, which he’d have to forfeit if he returned to NHL action.

AGENT WANTS LIGHTNING TO DEAL HIS CLIENT.

ST. PETERSBURG TIMES: Damian Cristodero reports the agent for Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Kevin Weekes wants the team to trade him to a club that’ll give him more playing time. Weekes played 61 games last season, but was relegated to backing up Nikolai Khabibulin this year, thus seeing his playing time decrease. Lightning GM Rick Dudley is loath to move Weekes, as he and Khabibulin give the club strong depth of goal in their hunt for a playoff berth. However, Dudley didn’t rule out trading Weekes if it would improve his club.

RUMOURS FROM THE OTTAWA SUN.

Bruce Garrioch reports the following: The Ottawa Senators are believed to have targeted Dallas’s Joe Nieuwendyk to play on their second line. Garrioch claims Nieuwendyk believes he’ll be playing for Ottawa by season’s end, with the Senators sending them “a young player” in return. An unrestricted free agent this summer, Vancouver’s Andrew Cassels is attracting interest from the Senators, Thrashers, Panthers, Blues and Blue Jackets. Columbus players attracting interest around the league include Ray Whitney, Mike Sillinger, Lyle Odelein, and Ron Tugnutt. The Colorado Avalanche are trying to shop forward Alex Tanguay to the Tampa Bay Lightning in a package offer for Vincent Lecavalier. Garrioch claims the Flyers nearly landed Lecavalier in a package deal centered around Keith Primeau. Anaheim’s Paul Kariya remains the focus of trade speculation, but the Mighty Ducks captain insists he wants to remain with the team. Blackhawks general manager Mike Smith still wants to trade impending free agent Tony Amonte, but his superiors won’t let him. The Montreal Canadiens may soon shop winger Brian Savage, who’s eligible for UFA status in July and is seeking $5 million per season.

My point of view:

I don’t see Cechmanek going anywhere, but if GM Clarke does trade Cechmanek for Belfour then he just made a bad trade, maybe. Flyers are a good regular season team, but how exactly good are they in the playoffs? The Flyers have “choked” in the playoffs losing to underdog teams, like the Buffalo Sabres. Is Cechmanek a good playoff goalie, or is he a Turek-like playoff goalie? Will Boucher step up in the playoffs? Would Matvichuk be a good addition, is he better than Therrien? Cechmanek on the Stars would be a great addition, already signed and younger than Eddie the Eagle, with a better personality. I have zero belief that the Canucks would be involved in trading Bertuzzi and Cassels, but I do believe that a 3-way deal could happen involving the Stars and Flyers with another team. Would Belfour make the Flyers that much better for the playoffs?

…Following that question, would Richter make the Sharks or Blues that much better for the playoffs? Rangers still have 32 games left to play, which is a total of 64 points under the wins category. There is still time left for the Rangers to snap out of the humiliating slump, all teams go through them. The question is “Should the Rangers trade Richter?” Do not forget that Sather was about to pull off a good deal with the Blues last season. Although the Blues goaltending tandem looks good in the regular season, how should it look in the playoffs? Is GM Pleau willing to risk another playoff disappointment because of his goaltenders? What about the Rangers, if they make the playoffs. The Rangers wouldn’t stand a chance to survive in the playoffs, unless Messier will create magic, once again. Richter and the Rangers do not just involve this season. If the Rangers make the playoffs this season, and after making their acquisitions in the off-season and become real playoff contenders for the 2002-2003 season, should Richter stay on that team? What should the Blues give up for Richter after losing most of their valuable youth? Barrett Jackman should be put on the table automatically, but who else? Brent Johnson or Fred Brathwaite? I would rather have Johnson over Brathwaite to have a very good and very young goaltending tandem with Blackburn and Johnson.

Or, should Richter join his long time teammate Adam Graves in San Jose? Can the Rangers pull a blockbuster deal with the Sharks? Do the Sharks really need Richter though? Well, the way I build a team is from goalie to defense to offense. At least, that is how a lot of teams do it and the best way for me to like it, although I would go lightly on defense and grab the best forward I could get, since I love the offensive style game. How good are the Sharks in the playoffs when it comes to goaltending? Nabokov had a decent but disappointing finish in the playoffs last season. Nabokov is also having pretty good season so far but also had his slumps as well, will he have them again in the post-season? Will Miikka Kiprusoff replace Nabokov in the playoffs again? You must have good goaltending in the playoffs, and watching Roy v Brodeur last post-season proved how important it is to have it. Should the Sharks attempt to land a playoff goaltender like Richter? The Sharks are good defensively (defense ranked 8th) and who knows how well they can win with one of the best goaltenders in the game. I doubt the Sharks would trade Nabokov (a dream come true), but maybe the Rangers can land Selanne. Losing Richter without receiving a quality goaltender in return could be a loss since Sather would have to trade for another goalie, Hackett? Make no mistake that Sather is not done rebuilding the Rangers, as they are going through the rebuilding process, so trading Richter will only be a part of the rebuilding process by receiving quality value in return.

Berezin doesn’t belong in a team like the Yotes, and trading Berezin for a playmaker wouldn’t be such a bad idea. How much is Berezin worth though? Not much, but it would be a smart move for the Pens to acquire an offensive player like Berezin.

Milbury wants Poti to be on his team as much as O’Connell does. Who has more to offer? Isbister for Poti would be a horrible deal for the Oilers. Plus, GM Lowe is taking his time with this because he is in no rush to trade Poti, while Milbury is in a rush to get Poti.

Bourque back in the NHL? Duh, obviously the answer would be no. Ray won the Cup, and is done. Why should he end his career with a team who will not win the Cup? The Bruins are in that much in need to have a leader and better offensive minded defenseman on their team.

This young goalie never gets a break does he (Weekes)? He played well with the Isle’s, Canucks, Flroida, and played pretty well with the Lightning, just not enough ice time though. He deserves a chance to be a number one goalie or just get more ice time as a back-up. Devils should try to make an offer for him, and if they do get him, Brodeur’s stats will be perfect and the team would have a great goaltending tandem, but the Devils show no interest. Where would Weekes go? Who knows, but it will be surprising.

As for the rest of the rumors, I don’t know what Ottawa should do, but they are a team that gets hot and cold. They might need a player like Nieuwendyk, but who should they trade? Trading McEarchen to the Isle’s would only please Yashin and Milbury. Odelein should be traded for a valuable young defenseman in return for the B’Jacks, like what the Wild did with the Devils (O’Donnell for Mitchell).